my "blog" related to quilts and other things that interest me.

Another scheduled post:

More on Paducah – probably all will be finished with this post.  As soon as I find out if it is ok to post photos of the quilts I will share some!

Across from the museum is the flood walls with painted murals and down a ways some benches in the shade – a good place for a break.

The Ohio and the Tennessee River coming together.

Are these trees down from last years flood right at the quilt show time? I don’t know.

After a rest stop by the river it was time to visit the ice cream shop in the downtown area – a stop each time I have been there to the show – a tradition to keep up I think!  Nice cold ice cream, air conditioning – I was revived!

On the way back to Charleston MO and the motel – a nice old skinny bridge to cross I do not like them!!  can’t they make a new one and much wider!

Next time you hear from me I will be home.  I have this one scheduled to post in the afternoon around the time I get home and then I will post something the next day after I get some rest!

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Scheduled – we are now on our way home or will be shortly.

The “bubble” building.  This is actually where I found most of my purchases – finally!  They also had more quilts in here along the side walls.  I never did see anyone that knew me! No one recognized my tote bag   I didn’t see any of the quilters from my area that went to the show.  I didn’t see AnnaMart from the Netherlands that has the book of shoe decorating – (she is on the Hand Quilting blog with me).  I never heard back from a reader/quilter from Australia that was going to the show – I think our e mails must have been lost in internet land somewhere out there – sorry Debby – one day!

the tote bag started to slowly get full – mostly small notions and odds and ends.  I did get a 3 yard cut of off white fabric at a sale store across from the quilt museum – I guess they set up shop every year coming from 50 miles away.  The fabric sale store was everything on sale!  I controlled myself though – I didn’t plan on getting a lot of fabric – remember I am trying to use my fabric at home – plenty of things to buy though.  I told myself at the beginning of the year that I was going to use my stash and/or look for fabric on sale only unless I needed something and couldn’t find it on sale.  I don’t like impulse buys on fabric without a project in mind – I tend to buy and then it sits on the shelves unused for months to years.

Me – waiting patiently in line at Hancocks of Paducah to pay for my batting – no fabric once again!  I like to shop the sales and there wasn’t any that interested me.  I always need the batting though and always have  to order it.

Nothing fancy!

Inside the store

And more – I could have taken more photos but I think you can understand how big this store is.

What did I buy – besides the two batting’s in the upper photo back a little way?  2 Edyta Star patterns – I think I mention a couple weeks back I was going to look for them, freezer paper, Roxanne needles, glue, a threader for the sewing machine, fray block, mylar ovals, a little fabric and a few odds and ends – needle gripper, adhesive backs for the metal finger stick on thimble – things like that.  With just having a Hobby Lobby in town almost  everything I buy is when I am on the road or 85 miles from me = or order and pay shipping and handling.  This way I save on s&h for about a year for some things as some of this will last me a year or more.

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Warning – Long Post!

We started the day bright and early as I wanted to be in Paducah around 9 so that we could possibly beat some of the rush in the later morning hours.  After a nice healthy ( ) breakfast at McDonalds LOL we got on the road.  I have been told that we are not to put photos of the quilts on the blogs for at least a couple months.  Somehow I think I will be seeing photos on blogs shortly but I am going to wait a little bit. What ever quilts you will see for a while will mainly be parts of background – sorry – but I’m following the rules for a little bit.  This is what the crowds looked like at first.  Not too bad.

After an hour or so:  I don’t know any of these people – hope you don’t mind being in the photos if you do see this and want it down let me know.

More crowds – this is all in the convention center main room on the first floor.  I’m sorry to say I was kind of disappointed with it – I didn’t purchase anything in this whole area.  Almost everything other than the quilts of course seemed to be aimed at machine quilting and machine embroidery.  I lost track of how many long arm machines there were for you to look at and try out if you wish.  Where was the hand quilting & hand work supplies!

One of the big machines!

Then I turned a corner and saw this!  How sweet.  The old gentleman was so sweet.  I got a nice little quarter foot attachment from him.  He said a guy in Hot Springs AR does the paint work on his machine and I told him I knew who he meant as CJ has gotten some of her machines from that man in AR.  From then on out every vendor I saw that had to do with featherweights was operated by a little old gentleman

Walked a little further and look who I saw – Alex Anderson – my first “famous”  quilting person for the day

Then a little further down – Ricky Tims complete with cowboy hat – second famous quilting person.

Time for lunch – look at the crowd

We found a piece of shade for our cheeseburgers and chips – sat down and rested awhile.

Not my feet – I go for comfort! how can one do a quilt show in these heels?

My comfort!

More to follow!

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Ok so I’m not really at Paducah yet but it was the first day of the trip.  Long day!  Started the day early.  My daughter who lives in North Little Rock came with me for the trip so the first stop was there to pick her up.  I decided though that seeing as I get my car serviced at the Honda place there and it needed it’s 30,000 mile check up I would take care of that before the trip.  So I dropped the car off and son-in-law picked me up and took me back to there place.  Mel had over slept so she was getting ready – that worked out fine because the car wasn’t going to be ready before noon.  We had time for lunch.  Then went back and got the car and got on the road.

It was a very windy day – but in this case it helped – it was pushing me along all day – I got 33.3 miles per gallon which is the highest I have ever gotten on this car   We took highways inside of interstate and it was a much more pleasant drive.  Very few big semi trucks – a plus in my book.  Countryside the whole way and Wal-Marts to use as rest rooms LOL – it works!

We got to our motel in a little town in southeast Missouri about 5.  Got checked in and wandered around looking for a place to eat – Pizza Hut, McDonalds, a Chinese Buffet or a Mexican place.  I don’t know about you but I don’t like to take a chance on buffet unless I am familiar with it and the Mexican place didn’t look great.  We chose Pizza – and McDonalds will be for breakfast – what a choice.

This is a nice small historical looking town near the Mississippi River and the Ohio River.  Some photos of the old house area:

Magnolia blossoms in bloom!

A huge bud from the same tree.

An old hitching post

The trees were in the way, didn’t get the whole house which was huge and now a Historical Society building.

That is it from here.  Now time to relax and get my sewing out – early long day tomorrow!

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Paducah here I come!  This is a scheduled post having written it yesterday as I know I will be too busy in the morning to blog I’m off to Paducah – I wish you all could go too.   I worked up a have to pack list – I always do this or I tend to forget things.

I cross things off  and  then I tend to add more things on, then decide no I don’t need it and cross it back off the list again – I tend to over pack – how about you?  I guess I would always rather have too much and clothes for if the weather gets warm/cold then be without what is needed.

Tote bag has a little bit of purse stuff in it in the inside pockets and a little wrist wallet for carrying around with me to have money handy and credit card for gas.  I will pack the lap top bag in the morning.  A bag of munchies to bring along and some tea bags seeing as I am trying to go off of coffee for awhile – less heart burn already – I think coffee has been the culprit!  Right now I have found that I like the brand of tea that Kroger’s carries as their signature brand – I like Pomegranate White Tea and Chai White Tea (no milk added)that one is a different brand.   I like the flavor of both of these just fine.  (I don’t like black tea – hate the taste)  I only had a small headache on day one from caffeine withdrawal and been fine since that first day – I think it was Saturday that I started to go without – I thought it would bother me more being a 2-3 cups of coffee a day person for the last 4 or 5 years now.   I also drink very little in the line of cokes in the last 2 years and more water.

Back to packing.  Joseph’s Coat is coming along with me.  I am getting close to completing the purple row and maybe I can spend the two nights I will be gone sewing it to the top?  Don’t know.  I will have to fit the top in the suitcase as it is too big to fit in the sewing box now    There really will be nothing to do where the motel is located as it is a little bitty town and 50 miles from Paducah.  There is not much around.  I hope to find some place to walk around Wednesday after we get to the motel to get in a little exercise after being in the car most of the day.  But as far as evening goes I imagine the tv will be on, Melanie will be reading or taking turns being on my computer and I can sew.  Thursday we will be all day in Paducah and will get plenty of exercise before going back to the motel in the evening ready to crash and travel home the next day.

Yes plenty of room for the quilt top in this suitcase, I still need to put in a comfy pair of walking shoes and toiletries and some other things but the quilt can fit in there.  Quilt show tickets right up there at the top and some maps printed out of Paducah – I have been there about 5 or 6 times now I guess – this will be my 3rd quilt show experience and we have been there through several other times so I kind of know my way around but always nice to have maps as back up.

The camera charger is already in the bag and the second camera battery is charged and in the little camera bag – will go in the tote just in case I take too many photos!  If the suitcase stays this empty I will put the lap top bag on top of stuff and have less bags to carry in.

I will most likely blog this evening unless I have no WiFi – I didn’t think to ask when I made the reservation, most places have it but if not I can log on from my phone – the place is by the interstate so normally have a signal.

Can you tell I’m excited

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Ok we all know I am a quilter not a maker of tote bags but I think they turned out pretty good!  Now of course I am not a perfectionist and there are a lot of mistakes that professional sewers would find.  I had a lot of fix ups!  I even broke two needles while putting the straps on!!  So thick.

Today I thought after all that work trying to make a bag for my lap top yesterday that I really needed to make it so that I would use it.  I added padding to the flap by cutting a slit in the fabric on the inside and I slid the padding in.  Then I stitching all the way around the edges to hold it in place and then stitching a piece of corresponding fabric over the slit.

The cover up

I found that if I fold the cord/charger tighter I was able to get it in the bag better – the bag is stuffed, but it works with all needed in the bag.  Having a padded flap seemed to help in this-  before the flap looked weird with all stuffed in the bag and the padding seems to help that. Plus it protects everything better as well.

The bags are made from Kate Spain’s “Fandango line”   my trio of bags/covers –the best part they all fit in the tote bag!  Of course at the quilt show I intend to show up with the tote bag just about empty!  I have to have room for to put purchases you know   I wonder what I will find – too much I’m sure – how much will come home with me?  I plan on controlling myself at least a little bit.  We do have to support our quilt businesses though so they will stay in business LOL

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Well I thought I would give it a try – making a bag that goes with the tote bag for the computer.  I had some Kate Spain Fandango fabric left and gave it a whirl.  I’m not 100% pleased with it.   I should have put padding in the flap and didn’t think to do so.  I can cut it open from the back though if I want, slip the padding in and sew strip of coordinating fabric over the slit – it would work and then sew around the edges again to hold the padding in place – do I want to do it?

I can fit the computer, mouse and mouse pad inside – I hate the mouse that is on the computer, I have a horrible time trying to operate it and much prefer a wireless mouse to use so I always carry that with me.  I didn’t make it quite large enough for the cord/charger though to slip in the bag too – that will have to go in the suitcase when I travel.  The battery last quite awhile on the computer so that shouldn’t be a problem most times as I rarely fly and would always have the charger with me other than those rare times.  If I want to really stuff the bag the cord/charger can fit – just doesn’t look good as it is packed too full then.

The back of the bag.  I didn’t think of a strap either!  I’m glad I didn’t pay for this fabric – this might have been a learning experience!  I don’t know know if I will use it or not.  I could still put a strap on it but it wouldn’t look really neat ten to one!

As you can see I didn’t get around to quilting at all today – the sewing machine is now off the table and back in it’s storage bag – I’m had my full of noise and it will be back to hand quilting now and hand piecing – unless I really want to make the changes to the bag that is I’ll let you know if there are changes made!

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I have had several humorous notes from blog readers that are going to the quilt show this week in Paducah.  They are going to be looking for my tote bag so they can say hi  

I thought it might be easier to spot me if they can see me with the bag – I tried for a good shot – what can I say I don’t take good photos of me – quilts I can do – me? – here I am in the bathroom mirror with my bag – if you spot me – introduce yourself!  I would love to meet some of my readers in person.  I will be wandering all over the place – I want to see as many of the quilts as I can and all of the vendors!  I will be there on Thursday!

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